


Stochastic Process

by Bell_Spatio



Category: Wolf 359 (Radio)
Genre: AU, Director AU, Director Maxwell, Kepler dies, No happy endings, sorry - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-22
Updated: 2021-02-05
Packaged: 2021-03-07 18:21:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 6
Words: 2,768
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26592079
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bell_Spatio/pseuds/Bell_Spatio
Summary: Kepler has been getting sloppy, attached, and overall failing at his job, Maxwell and Jacobi decide to take things into their own hands.
Comments: 2
Kudos: 9





	1. Discussion

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first fic please just be nice, I tried.

Jacobi has been staring at Maxwell, for once in his life, silently, as she explains her plans. They shouldn't be talking about this. They shouldn't even be thinking about it. But Maxwell never has been one to look to rules for guidance, had she? And in her defence, Kepler had been falling behind. A stray bullet, a trip, a few too many friendly gestures. He'd been getting sloppy and, worse than that, he was getting too attached to the two of them. What else were they supposed to do? Let him drag them down with him? Hell no.

"... Alana. You know this is insane. It'll never work, if we're unlucky he's probably already listening to this conversation. What the hell are you thinking?"

Maxwell shakes her head, holding up a phone with some data that makes no damn sense to him but more than enough to her. "I checked the room and us. There's nothing. Calm down, Daniel, it's just a bomb. Isn't that your whole thing? You make very big things blow up, right? Well right now, we have a very big building scheduled to blow up and he is a very big danger to us. What's the problem?"

She has been... far too calm about this for his liking. But he's been far too hesitant for hers. He knows that, and yet he continues, "the problem is, he's our /director/. Heads will roll, and I don't want to be on the chopping block. Why don't you just report him?"

"If I report him then they're question us as well. I can do this with or without you, don't make me leave you behind in this. We can come up with some excuse at work. It would be a shame if he were to... oh, I don't know, command you to detonate early and just miscalculate his exit?" She's grinning. Of course. She knows she's right, she's gone over why this is necessary five times now. Every time, he's failed to bring up a real argument. 

He stares at her for a bit too long, figuring it out, trying to figure /her/ out. He knew he couldn't, but it was worth a try. Then a slow nod, accepting her proposition. "Fine. But we do this properly, no risks, got it?"

"I wouldn't have it any other way."


	2. Killed In Action

Maxwell and Jacobi stand far from the site. detonator in hand, comms on, Maxwell holding a computer in her lap that shows Keplers location as he makes his way through the building. They have to time this right. Too late, and they miss their mark, too early and it's obvious that they aimed to kill. He was almost out. They had a minute to watch him finish setting up, account for... disturbances, and set off the detonator. Easy. Same as always, the only change was what was on the line. 

"Daniel? Is everything set? Do I need to worry about anything?" Maxwell had been perfectly calm this whole time. No change from her usual self, other than the distinct sense of power that she held here. She was good at what she did and she knew it, she didn't need to worry about messing up outside of the standard variable. 

Jacobi, on the other hand, only had a false sense of security as he checked the systems and wires and data for the third time in the last five minutes. It was clear he was nervous, but Maxwell couldn't blame him. These were unprecedented times, all they could both do was their best.

50 seconds. 

"No it- no. Everything is secure and functioning as expected. Hell, he's even going the exact same damn route that you expected... Alana?"

She'd gotten distracted. A tiny flaw had shown in the security system. Wrong code, someone must have been sloppy designing these because... that was an awfully quick and easy way to lock the outer doors without a trace. And in her defence, Kepler had been going a little too fast. Perhaps it was time to take an extra measure. So she doesn't answer Jacobi, and works quickly. 

30 seconds. 

Shit, why wasn't it going through? What kind of useless wifi- oh. No it's interference. Best deal with that... 

10 seconds. 

Run the damn code. What was she doing? 

5 seconds. 

And... send. 

Kepler crashes against the door as it refuses to open. They both get to watch in real time as he arrives a bit too early. A bit too competent, for the first time in too long. Jacobi detonates the explosives that he had volunteered to place around the building. Selfless idiot. Of course it had been the death of him. He'd gotten attached to two black-ops agents, what did he think would happen? That could have never ended well. He looked terrified. Not even angry. Had he not realised what had happened? Did he still think they would get him out? Sentimental fool. 

The bombs go off, and thank god for the fire because neither of them wanted to see what happened to someone pressed against a glass window when a bomb goes off. But it was done. A glitch in the systems, his own incompetence, entirely no-ones fault but his. What a shame. Mr Cutter would be proud. 

And so they link arms, and turn away. Back in their usual van, the one with the burn marks and handwritten code and one, single duck engraved in the walls from boring missions. It was theirs, and they loved it. Maybe she would keep it, sentimental value didn't always have to be bad when it could be thrown into the flames at a moments notice, right?

It would be fine. It always is. They get in, her in the passenger while she works and him driving, and leave Kepler behind in the rubble. And so comes their old little phrase, the one they used when they were doing their best work, 

"Let's go be monsters, right?"

"... right."


	3. Promotion

"It... actually worked?"

"Yes, Daniel. It worked. Are you really surprised?" Maxwell- /Director/ Maxwell gestures for him to make a turn. Her own new office. She'd been quite proud of it, it had been designed well, to fit her perfectly. And it did. A wall entirely lined with screens, a desk littered with notes and parts, more boxes for parts neatly organised against walls, and of course, a few projects on her desk and floor. It seemed like she'd designed it herself, perfectly calculating the ideal mix of tidy and mess for herself. Of course she did. 

He follows in, carefully moving around the projects. He seemed still. Alana was his friend, but now his director? Knowing how to act was complicated. "And you... /actually/ got promoted?" 

She turns to him, deadpan and judging. He was being stupid. "No, Daniel. I just stole this office and this equipment and all the people that answer to me are in on one big prank against /someone/." She gives him a moment to be somewhat embarrassed, before laughing and continuing. "Of course I'm /actually/ the director now. Sit down, you look like an idiot just standing there." As she speaks, she moves a tiny robot out of her chair and sits it on the table so she can sit down herself. It whirs almost happily at her. It kind of looks like a pet. 

"Right... right. And.. what does that make us?" He fiddles with a little piece of metal that was on her desk, it has something engraved in it, and he smiles when he sees it's part of one of his best pieces of work. A discarded part of rubble from his favourite bomb. He runs his finger over the writing. 

"What- Daniel you stupid fucking nerd. Still friends. Actually, speaking of, I had a proposition for you. Doesn't make sense for only one of us to get promoted. So, how do you feel about working as my right hand man, yeah? Not quite equal, obviously, but close enough."

"Oh- /oh/... really? I mean yeah, of course. Fucking hell, Alana. Did you even think I would turn that down? Any part of that freaking computer brain of yours?"

Maxwell grins, and points towards the door connecting her room to the one next to it. "Course not! Now fuck off, that's your office. Your new ID is waiting and it's already fitted out for you. Oh, and you have a new lab prepared downstairs and some new land for testing. Exciting, right?" She smiles, slightly more soft. Proud, of the both of them. "This... this is the progress we've been waiting for, Daniel. We're finally making it."

"Yeah... we are. See you next mission?"

She laughs, and shakes her head. "See you in a few hours, when you're settled in I have one last welcome gift for you."

Jacobi stands, smiling and giving her a casual salute. "Yes Sir!" Then he rushes to his door, laughing and dodging a book that Maxwell had playfully thrown at him. Nerds. They were back.


	4. Gift

Alana grins as she walks into Daniel’s office, holding something behind her back. He... doesn’t look all that impressed. Maybe vaguely concerned. Alana grinning like that meant either she had created something dangerous or weird, and he didn’t know which was worse. Still, she waits until she’s right in front of his desk, and then pauses, not breaking eye contact.

“Are you ready?”

“For what..? Does the great /Director Maxwell/ have a gift? For /me/?”

“Oh, don’t be like that. Here.”

And with that, she holds it out. It’s... a red and black furby. Daniel looks... so confused. 

“Alana... what the hell is that?”

“Shut up, stand up, take this.”

She hands him a small little remote, and then puts the furby on his desk, as soon as he’s a few feet away, she gestures for him to press one of the buttons. He does, and it opens it’s mouth and releases... a small stream of fire. Alana is grinning even more, extremely proud of herself, while Daniel stares, equally disturbed and impressed. 

“You know... Alana? I think this might be the weirdest shit you’ve made so far...”

“Oh? Well if you don’t like it I can just...”

She starts reaching out to take it back, he promptly bats her hands away.

“No, no I think I’ll keep it. It could be... useful.”

“Useful, huh? Useful for you scaring the hell out of some other agents?”

“Obviously.”

“Good, I’m glad you haven’t changed. You have fun with your new toy, your next mission debrief is in an hour.”

He doesn’t answer, he’s already far too busy taking the furby out to a contained area in a ballistics lab to see what else it can do. Alana chuckles to herself, nods, and walks back to her office. It was nice, seeing him so excited for something. Not that the furby didn’t have another motive for existing, but it was nice.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The idea for the flamethrower furby in wolf 359 was created on rp twitter, but I can’t quite remember the creator of it. As best as I can remember, it was twt user @jacobi_ily , if not, please tell me and I’ll update this! 💖


	5. Mission Briefing

It wasn’t entirely easy, getting back to work. Far too many calls for Kepler, walking into the wrong office, awkward stares at the desk where really, he should be sitting. But they made their choice, and now they have to live with it. And so they do. For a year, until they get their next assignment. 

“Wolf 359, yet another failed mission around the star. Our job is to go in, survey, make sure everything is running as it is. If not, we fix it or terminate the crew. Understood?”

“Yes sir.”

Alana has been leaning against her desk, going over the details for far too long now. There was only two of them. That made this... complicated. More complicated than she wanted. She loved puzzles, of course. They helped, they kept her focussed. But this was just... annoying. They were used to doing big missions as a group of three. It had worked well, and two wasn’t a problem, but it was new. But it was fine, and they would move on and progress. They always did. 

And so, at the end of the day, they packed their bags, prepared the Urania, and they were ready to go. To the star that, really, people hardly came back from. And neither would admit it, but a third pair of hands really would have been useful.


	6. Standard Protocol

“Stop grinning, you look like an cartoon villain.”

Maxwell practically giggles as she looks up from her computer to Jacobi. She had talked her way into plans with the crew for boarding the Hephaestus, and sure, maybe they were more worried about Eiffel getting caught in the crossfire than they were happy to receive support, but it was a start, and more than enough for her to get excited. 

“Hey... Doc?”

She holds back a sigh, and smiles up to Eiffel, who was just awkwardly standing in the door. He looks... absolutely awful. Those days in cryo must have really messed him up. But that’s a problem she can pass to the science officer. Dr Hilbert was... more than qualified. Probably. If not, he isn’t too important anyway. Really, if he died under Hilbert’s care then it would do nothing but build the relationship she has planned out with Hera... she’s getting distracted again. She blinks and brings her focus back to Eiffel, putting on a kind tone.

“Yes, Officer?”

“Are I... done here? Dismissed?”

She laughs quietly and gives him a dismissive wave. He had been useful for gaining some trust, and they’d be treating him like a damn prince since he’d gotten aboard the Urania, but now that they’re in his good graces, she really can’t be bothered to spend more time than she has to with him. 

“Yes, Officer Eiffel, you’re dismissed. You can walk freely here, you know? You don’t need to /ask/.”

He does. He absolutely does. She adores the little power trip. It’s fun. She can see why Warren enjoyed his fear tactics so much sometimes. But it’s better if he feels comfortable, so he does a very failed attempt at a salute, and leaves her and Jacobi alone. She waits a moment and watches him walk down the hall on the cameras before speaking again]

“... we should cancel decima.”

Jacobi looks relieved. Which is... concerning, but she’ll let it go, this time. 

“We should. It’s practically killing-“

Maxwell doesn’t even give him the chance. 

“No. No Eiffel still dies, but not by decima. We leave him under Dr Hilbert’s care, and he dies anyway.”

“... why? How?”

She shrugs, turning back to her computer as she runs some last security checks on the ship. They’ll connect to the Hephaestus soon, she needs to be sure everything is safe from being tampered with. 

“Something subtle. Heart failure, maybe? It doesn’t matter too much. But he’s too close to Hera, if he sticks around for too long and gets suspicious then this is over before it’s started. Plus, if he dies to someone both Hera and I dislike then it just improves me acting as her support, the crew won’t bat an eye at us.”

Jacobi sighs for a moment, then gives a stiff nod. She makes a mental note of his reaction, just a bit disappointed. 

“Of course. And you’re... sure crew elimination is ideal?”

“In disaster cases like this? Yes, absolutely. It’s only standard protocol once the work is done, and they’re already officially dead, they weren’t coming back anyway. Only keep him alive for as long as we need his work, Hera can cover him after she’s done mourning and I’ve fixed her anyway.”

“Right... understood. Will that be everything?”

“Mhm... should be. I’ll call you if not.”

He nods, and turns to go. 

“Oh... Daniel?”

He pauses, and slowly turns back to her, waiting for her to speak. 

“I’ll be muting Perseus tonight, it’s easier if they don’t know about him. And... if everything goes to plan, we won’t need a station AI by the end of this. So don’t worry when he goes quiet, alright?”

“... got it.”

“Good. Go get your supplies ready. We have... 16 hours until arrival.”

“Yes /sir/.”

She looks up, and upon seeing his shit eating grin, just throws a pen at him. He catches it and they both just... laugh. It’s a weirdly pure moment, considering... everything. 

“Go, shoo. We both have things to do.”

“Going! Going, see you tomorrow, nerd.”

“Mhm. See you tomorrow, fireboy.”

“What does that-“

“Shut up.”

He smirks, and finally leaves her to it. After that, she makes sure to call Eiffel back to go over his health, just to keep the two of them separated. They get on... far too well.


End file.
